When Christian media personality Tamera Mowry-Housley admitted to watching porn in the past for sex tips, some inside the faith community were offended. The perverse industry consistently exploits women—many who feel like they have no hope or choice.

But Atlanta-based first lady, Taffi Dollar, wife of mega pastor Creflo Dollar, is responding to women in the sex industry, particularly prostitutes and exotic dancers, the right way: by offering help.

On Saturday, August 10, the outreach ministry leader directed her Twitter followers to the Prestige website’s “community page” to read the uplifting story of Carol Smith, formerly a drug-addicted prostitute.

But now, with the help of God and Dollar’s nonprofit organization, Smith is free and has launched her own nonprofit, “Further Building Our Children and Communities” (FBOCC), which helps children who, like its founder, come from severely dysfunctional families.

“My home environment consisted of drugs, prostitution, murder, gangs, incest, and mental illness. As a result, I became a prostitute when I was a young teenager,” said Smith in her first-person account. “I continued in that lifestyle for a number of years until one day I realized something was wrong with the way I was living.”

In 1985, the misguided young woman made her way to church, joined and gave her life to Christ, though not completely.

“I still tried to straddle the fence; I continued to make money on the streets and attend church also,” she said.At 19, after meeting a man who said he loved her and would show her how to live her life, Smith left home. “This man introduced me to other ways of making money in the sex industry, like talking to guys on the phone and meeting them out somewhere.”

Over time, her negative behavior escalated.

According to Smith, “Eventually, I started using drugs and continued selling my body to support my drug habit,” until the police caught her.

In 2000, after being busted and slapped with 10 years of probation, “I went back to the judge and asked if there was a better way to serve the time instead of probation. He suggested I serve four months in jail. In 2006, I did those four months.”

After completing her sentence, Smith’s quest to get her life together led her to Atlanta, and eventually, to World Changers, the church Creflo and Taffi Dollar co-pastor. There, she discovered the Prestige Ministry.

“Prestige ministers gave me assurance. They taught me the Word. I learned I could not really find myself until I submitted to the power of God in me. I also learned that my purpose and my destiny could also be found within me,” she explained.

“They helped me with housing, food, employment, and most importantly, spiritual development.”These days, the help has paid off and Smith serves as evidence that change truly is possible.